Sorry for the delay in posting but I wanted to have a lot to share! Below you’ll find a sample illustration and the final cover and back cover illustration/artwork. I’m really excited to share these with you. Kickstarter backers have access to almost all of the illustrations as well, which come as a perk of being a backer!

With these done, and the maps being finalized, all that remains is for me to double check all the formatting and illustration locations, receive the final files and upload them to the Amazon, B+N, and Smashwords book sites. With that done, I can order proof and final copy print books and prepare to send them out to all my backers and then place them up for general sale! Without further ado, here’s the illustrations.

Can’t wait to share the entire book with you!

Oh, and did I mention there’s a good chance I’ll be getting The Steam Empire Chronicles translated into a different language? I’m in negotiation with a company to license and distribute my book in Portuguese. We’ll see where it goes, but I’m excited to explore this opportunity!

Salve! Part 5 of the Border is here for your reading enjoyment. With the Quadi close to escaping, Perula leads his men on a series of desperate charges. But can they stall the barbarians long enough for their allies to reach them? Not sure where to start? Read Part 1 and Part 2 now to get the low-down.

Be sure to read to the end of this part, as I’ve some extra information on Iron Tribune You’ll be interested in hearing!

So while I wait for the kickstarter, cover art, editing, and everything else to fall into place, I found myself inspired by some miniatures that I’ve been working on. This story doesn’t fall into the world of the Steam Empire Chronicles, but maybe I can blend it in later (depending on the response).

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Its a tad bit too cold to go to the pool or even sunbathe where I am currently, but hopefully that will change by next weekend.

Unfortunately, for the people of Antioch in my next novel, this is not a good time to be in town. You see, the Mongolians have invaded….

Enjoy the tantalizing sneak peek at Antioch Burns, my 2nd novella that is still in the pipeline. I hope you like the tidbit.

Don’t forget that you can get both Brass Legionnaire AND Copper Centurion now! Both are available on Nook, Kindle, and all other devices

The ramparts of Antioch at the Mount Silpius during the 12th century. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

. Copper Centurion should be out on iTunes this weekend as well. If you like the novels, please rate and review them so that others can join the world of Romanpunk.

*and remember to wear sunscreen!*

Ciao!

The countryside flew by at a prodigious rate, the horses of the auxilia scouting unit eating up the leagues of rolling hills and farmland. The double score of men rode two abreast, sunlight shinning off their glittering scale armor. The detachment of horsemen sent up a thin cloud of dust from the dirt road as they crested a low rise, their leader reining in his steed. Decanus Orestus Flavian reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a map. He traced their route with his gloved finger.

“According to the merchant’s report, he saw the burning homes down this way. He also said there was a lot of easterner cavalry. Pah!” He laughed. “Probably one of those damnable tribal disputes lighting up again. Stupid civilian probably hasn’t ever seen a real eastern horseman in his life.” He quipped to his auxilia. Several of his men laughed. They had been together for some time. Flavian liked to say that he had been born in the saddle. Out here on the eastern border of the Imperial Roman Empire, the massed cavalry forces of the eastern Mongolian Khannates were the main threat, and the Romans had been forced to develop their forces in kind. Flavian was one of the original founders, boys picked from the riding stables of various major cities, given weapons and armor and sent to fight on horses not designed for the job. The fact that he survived the two years of brutal, no-holds-barred warfare spoke to his skill and tenacity. That he rose in rank to lead an auxilia detachment, the ground based eyes and ears of the Roman Army, spoke to his intelligence.

Using this intelligence now, Flavian guided his men off the dirt roadway, to better mask their dust cloud as they approached the supposed scene of the attack. They rode through the field, trampling the high crops with impunity. Finally, the horsemen crested a short rise, and the officer reined his men in.

“In the name of Jupiter…” Flavian’s jaw dropped, gaping at the sight laid out before him.

Hi all,As many of you may know, I recently completed a Kickstarter program that helped me to fund a large portion of Copper Centurion’s cost. This go around, I offered a reward level that allowed the backer the option to create a character in my upcoming novel, Steam Empire Chronicles #3 – Iron Tribune.

However, I thought it would be easier – and better – to have the characters (or several of them) introduced through a novella – in this case, Antioch Burns. I’d like to share with you what I’ve discovered from my experiences.

Communicate Early, and make your expectations clear – Of the four people who contributed that level of money, one gave me plenty of information, two gave me some, and one gave me very little information to go on. So I sent an email, then one, then two. Both times I set ‘deadlines’ for people to return information by for inclusion in the story.

Then I waited.. and waited..

You get the point. So I started out writing the novella, and to my surprise recently got a very large ‘info dump’ of information that will be extremely helpful in writing this particular character. But I did have to go back and rearrange some parts of the story – which was fine, I was just three pages in.

2. Accept the fact that people may not commit– Yes, even if people say they want to help, they may not. Oh well, nothing I can do.

3. Remember that every character you get is a blessing!Look at it this way, I don’t have to come up with a very detailed background for this character, nor a name (easier in some genres, harder with Roman background) – Also, I don’t have to come up with characteristics or habits, as someone has already done that for me. Indeed, I was able to start spinning the story in a direction I think I like.

4. In the end, it’s all about how well you spin thestory – Just remember. In the end, you’re the boss!

By the way, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out my novels Brass Legionnaire and Copper Centurion. I’m exceptionally proud of both of these novels, and they’ve reached #2 and #6 on the Steampunk Amazon Chart in the last week or so. In addition, Both novels have been consistently ranked top ten in multiple ebook categories (Greek and Roman, Myths, and Alternate history being a few).

Hey all, so I’ve been considering a new story based on several of my favorite genres. Alternative History + Steampunk + Historical Fiction. Read the prologue to my story idea below. I won’t give away the actual story, but maybe the prologue will tweak your interest. PLEASE offer feedback. Let me know what you think! But keep it constructive peoples 🙂

In the year 1856 A.D., the most powerful and glorious empire ever to grace the world of Earth sat like a giant amoeba over the mountains, rivers, and plains of Europe. The Imperial Roman Empire had continued it’s slow spread over the various barbarian tribes of Europe for more than the past two millennia, from the founding of the Republic to it’s transformation into the Imperial Roman Empire with the crowning of Julius Caesar as Emperor. Despite initial attempts to prevent the transformation into an empire, solid Roman citizens with their eye on the future ensured the success of the first Emperor. The most important, Marcus Brutus, close friend and savoir of the Emperor during an assassination attempt in 44 B.C. is now venerated as a deified member of the Roman Pantheon.